Rejected!
by Artemis Taichou
Summary: Sasuke asks Sakura a question and the answer is not what he expected. Oneshot. Rated T for cursing (le gasp!).


**A/N: **Hello everyone! Here's a story for you. I wanted Sakura to have a laugh at Sasuke's expense (I don't hate him!). I thought this was a funny story and it been in my mind for a while. Hope you guys enjoy!

Rejected!

Sakura was sitting on a stool at Ichiraku's waiting for the rest of her team to show up for their evening ramen. Naruto had practically forced them to have dinner together every day there since the war had ended a month before. He had claimed it was to "get the team back to normal and reestablish our family". Yeah right. Tensions were still somewhat (extremely) high what with Sasuke not making one damn effort, Sai calling him traitor every chance he got, Naruto then sticking up for Sasuke, then Sai, retorting calmly that "of course dickless would defend his boyfriend the traitor" and Kakashi in the background reading his damn porn with a crooked smile upon his masked face and his one visible eye alight with malice, no doubt watching and enjoying the whole debacle. These skirmishes usually ended with Sakura knocking a few heads around and roaring at them that "IF YOU MORONS DON'T WANT TO END UP AS GREASE SPOTS ON THE STREET YOU BETTER CUT IT OUT!". Most of the time such a threat accompanied with a harsh glare was sufficient enough to quiet a rampaging dragon let alone her idiot boys.

Sakura sighed and shifted slightly in her stool. She had been overjoyed to have Sasuke back in the village, although some Konoha residents still threw suspicious glances his way when he decided to go about the village. As punishment for his desertion he had received probation for a year where he was instructed to stay inside the village and complete mediocre D-rank missions to redeem himself. Tsunade had said it was character-building having him scoop dog excrement off the streets, but Sakura wasn't fooled; she saw the malicious glint in her shishou's eyes every time she sent Sasuke to complete another one of those demeaning jobs with children following him shouting "pooper-scooper Sasuke" as he worked. Sakura knew it was not for Sasuke's sake that Tsunade inflicted such tormenting jobs on him, but for her own personal amusement. She truly was ruthless.

Sasuke, for his part, took everything calmly and never once complained; he completed his humiliating jobs without so much as a "hn" and even managed not to maim any of the children taunting him.

_No doubt the little shit knows he deserves it, _thought Sakura darkly.

Sakura had changed from the exuberant little girl she had been. She often thought back and cringed at the thought of her younger self falling over her own two feet trying to follow Sasuke everywhere he went like an over-enthusiastic leech: she had even dropped the honorific from his name and treated him the same as her other teammates. Sakura had come a long way since then; she had become one of the most respected and talented medic nin across all of the country and had enough strength in a punch to rival Tsunade's. She was still exuberant, but for other reason's besides a boy.

Sakura still loved Sasuke, but no longer confessed her undying love for him every chance she got. That love, although, had dimmed in light of what he had done to her, his village, and to Naruto. She could never forget the nights she cried herself to sleep or the times she comforted Naruto when the weight of his abandonment was felt more deeply than other days. Sakura understood that he believed he had to avenge his family and then his brother, but she still held onto a bit of her resentment for him not confiding in his team when his struggle was greatest. Her heart had hardened since then and she'd be damned if she was going to go through that pain again.

Sasuke had not otherwise indicated that he would like anything more than a platonic (if it could even be called that) relationship between them—composed and cold as ever when they were in each other's company—so she decided not wool-gather and ignored the matter completely. His attitude towards her, however, had changed dramatically: she could now see respect in his eyes whenever she caught him looking at her (which wasn't often) where before they had only held contempt.

There was a shift in the air beside her and the legs of the stools squeaked as Kakashi, Naruto, Sai and Sasuke finally arrived and settled took their seats.

"Finally," Sakura huffed indignant, "I've been waiting here for 30 minutes."

"Heh heh, sorry Sakura." Naruto grinned sheepishly at her and reached up to scratch the back of his head, "You see, training went on longer than expected. Sai was mouthing off again and Sasuke decided to throw him in the stream and then I had to—"

Sakura cut him off. "I get it."

Now that she looked closer the three of them did look more disheveled than normal training usually called for; their clothes were torn in places and dirt was smeared across their faces. Sai looked a bit worse for wear than the others; he was drenched in water, his clothes dripped steadily onto the floor and the plastic of the stool he was sitting on gave a more prominent squeak when he shifted. Kakashi looked spotless and had _Icha Icha _out as usual, which lead Sakura to believe that he had not been the one to stop the fight, merely a bystander.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I'm hungry, lets order." She had not been able to join them for training as the hospital took most of her time.

Just as they were about to finish Kiba, Shikamaru, and Ino walked in.

"Hey guys!" Nartuo yelled and waved them over.

"What's up?" Kiba anawered.

"Yo." Shikamaru waved.

"Hey." Ino said enthusiastically; she had noticed Sasuke sitting next to Sakura and a flush rose to color her cheeks as she rushed to occupy the empty seat to the left of him. "Hello Sasuke-kun. Hey forehead."

"Pig." Sakura nodded her head in greeting.

Ino had improved regarding her actions towards Sasuke too, but sometimes that twelve-year-old girl resurfaced to annoy the hell out of Sasuke.

_Although, _Sakura mused, _it is kinda funny to watch the vein in his forehead twitch whenever she gets on his nerves. _

She was just finishing her last noodle when Sasuke abruptly turned to her and smoothly asked, "Come over to my house tomorrow for dinner at seven?"

There was a clatter as Naruto dropped his chopsticks on to the counter; a noodle dangled out of his mouth, agape in surprise. Sai looked as emotionless as ever, although there was a certain look in his eyes that told he was watching attentively. Kakashi had actually (gasp!) looked away from his precious book (which told how interested he actually was) and was absorbing the events unfolding with his usually apathetic gaze. Kiba had a huge grin stretched across his face that contrasted with Shikamaru's passive one. Ino was a whole other story; she had gone from red, to purple, to blue all within he span of two seconds since Sasuke's question; her face a canvas of emotions ranging from sadness to mostly fury. All were staring at Sakura waiting for her reply.

Inner Sakura was overjoyed and danced around in her head shouting "Shannaro! Shannaro!", but outer Sakura was struck dumb. _What the hell? Why now? _She sat stumped and confused for about a split second before her confusion was replaced by anger. His 'question' had not sounded like a question at all, more like a command.

_Oh hell no, _she thought defiantly.

She composed herself, sat up a little straighter in her stool and turned to look at Sasuke, her face giving away no emotion and her voice light and airy, "Sorry," she said looking him straight in the eyes and lifting one pink eyebrow, "I'm busy." All the occupants of Ichiraku gasped in one collective breath which only lead to shorten Sakura's temper even further as she realized everyone had been listening not just her friends.

Sasuke raised one of his own eyebrows in return and kept a stoic face, but Sakura had not missed he slight widening of his eyes when she had given her answer. _That's right, sucker. How does it feel, huh? You can't me that easily anymore, _Sakura thought triumphantly. No doubt he had expected her to jump up and down in joy only too eager to accept his offer.

"Well, I have to be going now," Sakura said. She kept her voice light and gave a false yawn, "it's been a long day. Thanks for the ramen Naruto. I'll see you guys at practice tomorrow. Kakashi. Sai. Sasuke." She patted Naruto on the head as she passed (whose mouth was still catching flies) and nodded to the rest of her teammates. "Bye guys see you later." She added to Shikamaru and Kiba who looked extremely amused and now wore matching grins. She didn't bother with Ino; Sakura was sure she wouldn't be able to coherently distinguish words anyways as she was still in a state of shock.

Just as she walked out of the restaurant she heard Kiba yell loudly with relish, "Ohhhh! Your ass just got shut dowwwwn!"

Sakura threw her head back and laughed feeling giddy and rushed back to her apartment not waiting for Sasuke's reaction, although she would have liked to see it. A dramatic exit is just what she had wanted.

_Wait until I tell Tsunade, _Sakura thought gleefully as she hummed, almost skipping down the street imagining her and Tsunade's mirth at Sasuke's expense over a cup of sake.

So what did you guys think? Poor Sasuke? HELL NO. I think he deserved that at least once. Tee hee.


End file.
